What's in a Pilot House?

[Jim Cooper]

What's in a pilothouse? My ideal pilothouse has a berth, chart table and night lighting. It would have dogged side doors, dutch for those fresh cool breezes! And plenty of overhead mounting space for additional electronics to compliment a full length console large enough for multiple 12" displays and monitor. Good views aft are also important as is an overhead hatch for ventilation. Above all, a comfortable helms chair, capable of lulling me to sleep. Selene and Nordhavn houses seem to impress me. What's in your Pilothouse?

 

[markpierce]

My pilothouse substantially qualifies. (Dutch doors with dogs, chart table, night lighting,360-degree views, overhead hatch, and only missing a berth, but then it's only 35-feet long.)

 

[O C Diver]

What's in a pilothouse? My ideal pilothouse has a berth, chart table and night lighting. It would have dogged side doors, dutch for those fresh cool breezes! And plenty of overhead mounting space for additional electronics to compliment a full length console large enough for multiple 12" displays and monitor. Good views aft are also important as is an overhead hatch for ventilation. Above all, a comfortable helms chair, capable of lulling me to sleep. Selene and Nordhavn houses seem to impress me. What's in your Pilothouse?

Have:
Berth, Laptop table, night lighting, 2 side doors, over head hatches, engine heat and air conditioning, and a Stidd chair.

Heading South in the dark last winter.

Pictures before my refit.







No paper charts anymore, so no chart table. Have 3 independent electronic devices with charts.

Ted

 

[markpierce]

Sorry, OC. You do not have Dutch doors, and dogs are obviously absent.

 

[twistedtree]

I think your list is pretty good. Black ceiling panels helps with light control at night, and that brings up another important feature (at least to me). Good light control from other parts of the boat.

It's good if people can be active and using other parts of the boat, i.e. lights on, without light leaking into the PH. This is one of the issues I have with Flemings and Grand Banks Grand Alaskans, for example. The pilot houses are more like pilot stations and are open to the salon, galley, etc. To have lights out in the PH, you are forced to have lights out in major living areas in the boat. The very worst offenders are the Dashew boats with their "great room" design. I just scratch my head over that one.

A while back there was a "show us your helm" thread that contains a lot of pictures of different helms and pilot houses.

 

[markpierce]

Yes, I prefer and have a pilothouse separate from the saloon and other spaces. Don't hardly sail at night with the distraction of other cabin lights, but then there is the opportunity.

 

[ksanders]

We have sliding doors, a big aft hatch for ventilation and access to the boat deck, and a comfortable settee. No berth, although I think that would be very nice.

The last photo is the view from the pilothouse into the main living deck.

 

[Jim Cooper]

Good post about the open salon design...definitely not for me although it typically provides better views when backing down. Still, not enough trade-off for me.

 

[101TUG]

2 side doors but not Dutch door, no bed but chart table and a nice flags rack

 

[O C Diver]

Sorry, OC. You do not have Dutch doors, and dogs are obviously absent.

With my pilothouse elevation above sea level, the dutch doors are unnecessary and sliders offer far more choice in air flow than the open or closed dutch door.



As for the dogs on doors, I smart enough to know that I'll never be out in conditions that require them.

Ted

 

[123]

Funny that these doors are known in the US as Dutch Doors, we dutch call them Farm Doors "Boerderijdeuren" and these doors are not often used in our houses.


http://www.houtendeurenenbeslag.nl/buitendeuren.htmlhttp://www.boerderijdeuren.nl/

 

[dhays]

What's in a pilothouse? My ideal pilothouse has a berth, chart table and night lighting. It would have dogged side doors, dutch for those fresh cool breezes! And plenty of overhead mounting space for additional electronics to compliment a full length console large enough for multiple 12" displays and monitor. Good views aft are also important as is an overhead hatch for ventilation. Above all, a comfortable helms chair, capable of lulling me to sleep. Selene and Nordhavn houses seem to impress me. What's in your Pilothouse?

I really like your list. The only two things I would add is a small table to set a drink, plate, or book for the folks sitting on the bench seat and reverse raked windows. The windows aren't in the PH, but would be nice.

I like my Pilothouse, but I am missing the berth, table, and the wannabe windows. I don't have Dutch doors, but as someone else mentioned, the sliders work really well and I will not be cruising in the open ocean so dogged doors are not needed. No overhead hatch, but could add that. View aft is not good.

 

[markpierce]

With my pilothouse elevation above sea level, the dutch doors are unnecessary and sliders offer far more choice in air flow than the open or closed dutch door.

Regardless, the dogs and rubber seals keep out dirty-air contaminants. Have several doors, hatches, and multiple windows which can be manipulated to create most any desirable air blow. Meanwhile, the lower halfs of the Dutch doors are good at keeping spray on the outside while providing unrestricted views as well as a "railroad engineer's" perspective.

 

[dhmeissner]

That's a great photo Mark.

 

[O C Diver]

Regardless, the dogs and rubber seals keep out dirty-air contaminants. Have several doors, hatches, and multiple windows which can be manipulated to create most any desirable air blow. Meanwhile, the lower halfs of the Dutch doors are good at keeping spray on the outside while providing unrestricted views as well as a "railroad engineer's" perspective.

:lol:

You wrote, "the dogs and rubber seals keep out dirty-air contaminants".

Then you post a picture of you in a coal or wood steam engine. The few coal fired steam engines I've been in were filthy with coal dust everywhere. Guess you missed the irony of what you posted.

Ted

 

[markpierce]

:lol:

You wrote, "the dogs and rubber seals keep out dirty-air contaminants".

Then you post a picture of you in a coal or wood steam engine. The few coal fired steam engines I've been in were filthy with coal dust everywhere. Guess you missed the irony of what you posted.

Ted

I suppose so. Actually, the engine is oil-fired; a Shay geared locomotive located in Felton (Railroad Town). My engineer role was a result of my workmates retirement gift in 2002. Originally, the locomotive ("Dixie Shay") was wood-fired.

 

[78puget-trawler]

I know for certain the helm seat in my Puget Trawler is pretty sad! That and the foot rest on the dash panel is too low for me, but I can move that up. But that seat really needs help. Only have one slider door at the helm, of course being what it is, just about everything else is just behind the helm. My helm looks absolutely nakie compared to some I have seen on TT. All I have is what it came with, a GBS hanging on the underside of the overhead panel, a radar and a compass. But at that its more than I am used to. Of course there is a VHF and a dig sounder on the instrument panel as well.

 

[healhustler]

Funny that these doors are known in the US as Dutch Doors, we dutch call them Farm Doors "Boerderijdeuren" and these doors are not often used in our houses.

I'm rebuilding my pilothouse now, so I'm relying on this thread to tell me all I need to include. I already know I need a set of sliding dutch doors with big dogs. The rest of it will be patterned after a Walmart miniature version of 101TUG, a spectacular example.

 

[Mako]

I'm going in a different direction:

• I want nothing in front of me except the wheel and a magnetic compass. The helmsman's job is to steer to a course. Most of the time this will be my daughter;
• The console needs to be extremely shallow. I want my nose pressed against the front glass;
• Everything else goes into the overhead console. Only exception might be the radar;
• Next to the helmsman will sit the watchkeeper. On that side of the overhead are instruments and electronics that need to be shared, like the radio. Most of the time this will be my seat;
• Not enough room for a chart table, so the full size chart board (with corkboard surface) will either be mounted vertically to the bulkhead or overhead on a piano hinge.

I've used these layouts on previous boats and they work well for me. Bear in mind that for my new bespoke construction I'm going old-school, not starship enterprise. To each his own.

 

[oscar]

Mine has my lovely bride in it with a smile on her face.....

Which means......

It's 72.5ºF in there.....
It's not rolling too much.
The view is nice.
The Captain (that's me) is not cursing whilst looking at NAV or Engine instruments.
We are within 3-5 hours of a comfortable marina/anchorage.
The steaks are marinating.
The wine coolers are in the chiller.

What's in your dog house?

 

[FF]

Most PH are the high point in the boat, where motion will be larger.

If extensive offshore work is contemplated the PH bunk should be fore and aft , not a lubber bunk athwartship.

The lubber bunk is fine for guests in port or a snooze in the PM inshore.

Night operation , no tinted windows fwd and no reflections from the glass areas is required.

A gauge light kill switch , or very good rheostat dimmer is needed.

Running very dark inside is needed if you are looking for logs or Sea Land boxes barely awash.

Windows tilted fwd seem easier to not have reflections from.

The head must be accessible to the watch stander , or a secure line , so boys can do what boys do over the side.

Life rings or MOB gear is needed P&S , with in easy reach of the watch stander.

 

[refugio]

I put visibility top of my list with reverse (forward) slant windows for many reasons, full visibility aft, and visibility to each side for docking (i.e. doors on each side). I will also go along with the others who say it has be separated from lighted activity in the galley / saloon. I kind of like the idea of Dutch doors but my sliders seem OK.

Next up would be making the captain comfortable including:
- 2 adjustable helm chairs - Mine go up and down, footrest adjusts for height, back angle is adjustable, armrests are adjustable for angle. Need enough room for guests to pass behind, need to be light enough to move out of the way on occasion. Below is a pic from a couple weekends ago with them positioned next to each other with armrests raised - perfect for having my 4yo grandson with me. They needn't be massive Stidd chairs - mine are Zwaardvis bases from a second hand shop (probably takeouts from 47' Bayliners) with lightweight RV seats bolted on top.
- Adequate ventilation. It seems I am constantly adjusting airflow as the wind changes, sun comes through my 2 large overhead hatches, my wife asks for more or less air. It's cool in the PNW when on the water and it's a delicate balance. It's particularly important to have enough ventilation when there it's raining and there is a semi-wet crowd of people in the pilothouse - my furnace has a couple of outlets at the helm but I still have to crack windows and (occasionally) wipe the insides.
- Dedicated places for stuff. Binocs, log, writing instruments, sunglasses, water / coffee / pop, whatever. Doesn't have to be fancy, but has to be within reach while seated at helm.

Third would probably be comfort for guests. I have a long queen berth area behind the helm that can hold a bunch of people but it doesn't have a table and is a little awkward to get jump up to if the guest is a child or elderly - I've been thinking about a modification for 10 years but don't want to compromise the berth (see next point). I'd also like to be able to use this as a work area so I'd need good ergonomics for a laptop and widescreen monitor.

Fourth would be sleeping accommodations. That berth is perfect for the 2 of us and where we sleep if we're not at a dock - really love the 360 visibility just by raising my head a few inches. I've always preferred pilot berths when being a guest on "other peoples' boats" and consider this a valuable amenity for casual guests over having to dedicate a stateroom. The key thing is that is has you have to immediately put everything away when waking in the morning. We had two guests up there a couple of years ago and they still had their crap spread around the pilothouse at 10am - I finally had to ask them to tidy up. This actually goes for anybody sleeping in a common area but I haven't found the right way yet to impart my sense of urgency on my guests.

View attachment 52400

 

[janice142]

A couple of observations:

Formerly I had my instrument panel high in the overhead. I found as my eyes aged the angle for viewing (tilting neck/putting on glasses/focusing) was becoming more effort and less reward. For that reason I switched to in front of the wheel just below the chart table.

In front of my wheel is a wonderful area for full sized charts, coffee mugs and more. Plus the compass.

That's a roll of paper towels incidentally. Didn't notice that before.

There is an angle about 6" wide that allows me to see clearly and the instruments are out of the way. Frankly I'm not keen on a bunch of stuff between me and the front windows. The compass suffices.

That said, I'm old school. We always steered by compass course and I continue to do so. It's just easier/more intuitive for me.

As far as doorways, having one on each side is a True Blessing. That was one of the criteria for purchase when I was looking for Seaweed. I want to be able to solo (make that "need") so having access to those side cleats is critical.

However, while underway and at anchor for the most part, I have devised netting to go over my sliding doors. If a rogue wave should unbalance me, I'll still be aboard. This is a picture of my setup:

This works quite well however there is a problem. On the Gulf Coast I'm seeing lots more boaters and I'm one of those who waves. My netting makes that a slower process. This week I'll figure out a way to hang the netting a bit lower to facilitate waving.

Y'all wave back now, okay?!?

I am fortunate that Seaweed has a large flat area for my chart. I also tuck the netbook in the corner for OpenCPN

I am envious of some of those captain's chairs you have. They look totally comfy. Mine was AWFUL. I finally took it off and got rid of it. I did keep the post so I could go with another replacement.

The problem with mine was even with the seat slid all the way forward it was "too far" to reach the wheel. And it was uncomfortable.

Then I went for a ride on an older Hatteras. It had the original helm chair and that was wonderful. The seat was fastened to the deck when underway or could be moved. I'm enamored.

So I'm looking around -- four legs, sturdy, small and with arm rests the proper height.

 

[kraftee]

Typical Great Harbour GH47. Ticks most of the boxes.

 

[dhays]

Typical Great Harbour GH47. Ticks most of the boxes.

The GH pilothouses are wonderful. Just about ideal.

 

[Pack Mule]

Everything I need ,plus some

 

[Wayfarer]

Having spent many watches in various pilothouses over the years, I've found that the only truly important piece of equipment is this:

Radars and plotters and fancy red lights are nice, but none of them will help you get through that stack of chart corrections you've been putting off quite like a pot of cheap coffee, made in a cheap coffee pot, with so many grounds in the basket that some of them don't even get wet. The hissing as the stuff sloshes out of the pot and leaks all over the counter. The smell of thousands of cups of crap coffee burnt onto the hot plate. The windows fogging up. The zip tie that holds the handle on, because it went sailing across the pilothouse that one night, and somehow managed not to shatter. Pure romance.

 

[healhustler]

Typical Great Harbour GH47. Ticks most of the boxes.

The least of Great Harbour pilothouses ticks off most of the boxes. The GH 47 though.....I mean, with a separate head and queen berth, all you'd ever need is right there. Add a microwave and fridge, and the Admiral can have the whole lower deck to herself. Awesome.

 

[Jim Cooper]

Yes, the GH47 looks satisfying, as do many of the other respondents. I can't wait to fall asleep tonight and dream of the perfect compilation of toys and appointments. I notice no one has mentioned the want or need to have access stairs to the top deck/helm.

 

[cardude01]

Fred,

Why do you say this?

"If extensive offshore work is contemplated the PH bunk should be fore and aft , not a lubber bunk athwartship"

Seems like the rolling offshore would roll you out of the bunk easier if it is fore to aft, but maybe I'm thinking about it wrong.